McGarrett meets his match
by socialgal5
Summary: What happens when 5-0 gets a new teammate, one who Steve finds very attractive? What if she's not prepared to get close to anyone again-not after what happened at her last job, a place called NCIS...
1. Chapter 1

"Steve, what exactly are we doing here?" Danny asked his partner for the third time in an hour. They had been sitting at the same small beach bar for over an hour now, and McGarrett had yet to reveal his reasons to Danny.

Steve sighed again. "Since you persist in pestering me, I guess I'll tell you. We're here to recruit a new member for 5-0."

Danny's eyes got wide, and his mouth practically fell open. "Wait, we're at a beach bar to recruit someone who is supposed to protect and serve? Who exactly works here? Wonder Woman? Clark Kent?"

"She's a former NCIS agent from Washington D.C.," Steve told his partner. "Currently, she works at this bar for less than minimum wage."

"And you think she's looking for a better job?" Danny asked.

"No, not necessarily. But the governor thinks that we should try to recruit her. Apparently, she's one of the best." Steve took a sip of his drink and savored it leisurely.

"First of all, what is NCIS? Secondly, why is she a 'former' agent?" Danny wanted to know, his eyebrows furrowed together in puzzlement.

Steve looked at Danny in disbelief. "You work in law enforcement, and you've never heard of NCIS? I don't believe this!"

"Who the hell is NCIS? What is NCIS?" Danny demanded to know, growing impatient.

"NCIS is the Naval Criminal Investigative Service," Steve explained. "They investigate crimes relating to marines and naval officers. Anyway, this girl used to work for them, but she resigned eighteen months ago when her partner was killed in the line of duty."

Danny threw up his hand. "There's the catch! She comes with emotional baggage, huh?"

"She comes with skills that we could use," McGarrett declared adamantly. "She speaks Spanish, Russian, French, Italian, and Arabic, not to mention she's supposed to be a really good shot."

"So, why don't you just call her into the office and talk to her about a job?" Danny wanted to know. "Why are we going to all the trouble of going to where she works?"

"Because I want to get a feel for her before I ask her about coming to work with 5-0," Steve declared. "She should be here in fifteen minutes."

Exactly fourteen minutes later, a red Jeep pulled up in the parking lot, and a pretty blonde girl hopped out. She was about five foot six with hair down to the middle of her back, and sharp, all-seeing blue eyes that seldom missed anything. Steve wouldn't have called her skinny, but she wasn't overweight by any means.

Something in her face made him long to get to know her. Steve McGarrett had never met her before, but he was determined to have her on his team from the moment he laid eyes on her. Something about her expression was lonely, mournful, and somewhat sad. Her expression reminded him of how he had felt when his dad died—helpless and alone with his grief.

"She's certainly pretty," Danny commented, his voice low.

"Shut up and keep your eyes on Kono," Steve replied. "You know you want to ask her out."

"Okay, let's just keep talking about the girl we're here to meet," Danny said, steering the conversation back to the approaching blonde. "What's her name, anyway?"

"Emma Collins," Steve replied, eyeing the attractive young woman over the rim of his glass. "She's twenty-seven, has a large family in South Carolina and, according to my source, is a little bit shy of getting close to anyone."

"Like I said, emotional baggage," Danny said again.

Steve and Danny's Hawaiian waitress got off when Emma came on duty, and she came over a few minutes later to check on them.

"Hi, I'm Emma. I'll be taking over for A'lai. Can I get y'all something?"

Steve pulled his badge out and placed it on the small table. "We'd like to talk to you about a job with 5-0."

Emma's polite smile disappeared instantly, and she swallowed hard. "I'm not interested."

She turned to walk away, but McGarrett jumped up to follow her. "Emma, c'mon! Just hear us out, okay?"

"I'm through with law-enforcement," she insisted bitterly, ducking behind the bar. Steve started to follow her, but she whirled on him suddenly.

"How the hell did you even find me?" she wanted to know angrily.

"I got a call from an old friend at NCIS," Steve explained calmly. "Gibbs said you were the best at your job, but he said you'd had a rough time lately. Please just let me show you what I have to offer. 5-0 isn't exactly NCIS. You can't really be satisfied with this life, can you? Serving drinks to tourists?"

"Serving drinks doesn't get my friends killed!" Emma snapped harshly. "I watched my partner die, and I couldn't do anything about it!" Her last sentence came out in a choked voice, and Steve saw tears in her bright blue eyes.

"Listen, I understand what that's like," McGarrett assured her. "And I can't promise you that what 5-0 does is not dangerous, but I just wish you'd come hear what I have to say." Steve slipped his card into Emma's hand, and she didn't hand it back to him or throw it away immediately.

When McGarrett walked away, Danny took a few steps towards Emma. "I'm Danny Williams, Steve's partner," he explained. "You should really think about talking to him. I'd never admit it to McGarrett, but 5-0 is pretty cool. We work with some great people."

"I'll think about it," Emma promised, giving Danny a half-smile. "And it's nice to meet you, Danny."

As Steve and Danny walked to the Camaro, Danny shook his hand. "You didn't go about that the right way," he told Steve. "If you just smile and introduce yourself politely, she might have listened to you a little bit more."

"Like I said, Danny, keep your smiles for Kono," Steve insisted.

"You think she's pretty, don't you?" Danny asked, finally realizing that Steve thought Emma was attractive. "That's why you want me to keep my smiles for Kono, isn't it?"

"I never said anything," Steve declared innocently.

"You didn't have to," Danny laughed.

"Shut up, Danno!"


	2. Chapter 2

A couple of hours later, Emma got a break, and she walked down to the beach to spend her fifteen minutes in peace. Somewhat reluctantly, she pulled out the small business card that the dark-haired, handsome man had given her. All it said was "Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett, Hawaii 5-0," and a phone number. She was surprised that Lt. Commander McGarrett knew Gibbs, and that Gibbs had called McGarrett about her.

Emma sat down on a bench and propped her elbows on her knees, staring down at the small card she held in her hands. She had left NCIS after her partner, with whom she had just begun to develop romantic feelings for, had been killed while they were together on an undercover mission. She had been right beside him when a drug dealer put two bullets in his brain, and Matt's blood had splattered all over me. She had watched his lifeless body fall to the floor and seen the blank, empty look in his brown eyes. Twelve hours later, she had turned in my letter of resignation, my badge, and my gun. Emma decided to move as far away as she could from Washington D.C., and Hawaii had fit that bill perfectly. It was small, exotic, and no one would know her there. Well, she hadn't thought that anyone knew her, but now Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett had come to offer her a job.

Honestly, Emma was bored with her current job. Serving drinks and burgers to tourists wasn't exactly her idea of a steady job. It paid the bills, but she found herself longing for something that involved a little bit more activity and action. As much as she hated to get involved with law enforcement again, Emma knew that she should at least call the number and have a talk with Lt. Commander McGarrett or, as she thought of him, the "tall, dark, and handsome" guy.

Steve was in the middle of some paperwork when his cell phone rang loudly. He pulled it off the clip on his belt and answered it.

"Yeah, this is McGarrett," he said, putting the phone to his ear.

"Commander? This is Emma. Emma Collins. I...I wanted to talk to you about your job offer," the hesitant voice on the other end of the line said.

McGarrett leaned back in his office chair. "I was hoping you'd call. When can you meet me?"

"Well, I get off work at six-thirty," she replied slowly. "You already know where I work, so why don't you just meet me back here?"

"That sounds good," Steve agreed. "I'll see you at half past six."

Promptly at six-thirty, McGarrett walked into the small beachfront cafe and sat down at the same table as he had earlier in the day. Emma caught his eye when he entered, and she nodded once, still not smiling. In the back of his mind, Steve wondered if Emma ever smiled. If she decided to work for 5-0, he would make it his mission to evoke a smile from her.

When her boss told her that she could leave for the night, Emma untied her white apron and walked over to where McGarrett was sitting. He stood up as she approached.

"Hi," she greeted him quietly, almost as if she was shy. "Thanks for driving over here to meet me."

"Thanks for agreeing to meet with me," Steve replied evenly, sitting back down when Emma did. "I understand why you're reluctant to get involved in law enforcement again."

"I'm not sure you do," Emma told him uncertainly. "How much did Gibbs tell you?"

"Enough to know that you went through hell in D.C. I certainly don't blame you for not wanting that to happen again."

Emma twisted the small silver ring on her index finger. "I lost my best friend while we were working undercover," she explained. "He was shot right in front of me, and I watched him die. I couldn't do anything to save his life."

Steve nodded sympathetically. " I know what it's like to lose someone close to you," he said quietly. "My father was killed because of my job in the Navy reserves."

Emma looked up suddenly, her bright blue eyes full of sadness and tears. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I can't imagine what it would be like to lose your father. I don't know what I'd do if I lose mine..." Her voice trailed off again, and Steve realized that he was mesmerized by her charming Southern accent.

"Listen, I know you don't want something bad to happen again, but my team could really use your skill set, Emma," Steve told her. "You're smart, you speak multiple languages and, from what I hear, you're a pretty decent shot."

The corners of Emma's mouth turned up faintly. "I guess I'm an okay shot," she admitted, shrugging casually. "I haven't fired a gun in over three months."

McGarrett smiled charmingly. "I'm sure it will all come back to you when you do it again."

Emma cocked her head to one side curiously. "You're assuming that I'm going to accept your job offer," she pointed out.

A smile started at the left corner of Steve's mouth, and it spread all the way across his face. "You wouldn't have called me if you weren't seriously considering it, would you?"

"Touché." Emma bowed her head slightly, admitting that he was right. Then, she got serious again. "Listen, Commander McGarrett—"

"Please, call me Steve," he interrupted quickly.

"Okay, Steve, I want to be completely honest with you." Emma swallowed hard and gazed deep into Steve's eyes. "I can't be entirely sure how I'll react the next time I'm put in a life and death situation. To tell the truth, I'm scared." What Emma didn't say was that she was scared she'd get close to someone again only to have him get murdered. She didn't think she could bear to lose another person who she was good friends with.

"Look, none of us knows how he'd deal with a situation. But Gibbs says you're one of the best, and I trust his judgment," McGarrett told her. "I know you'll be good, Emma."

"How do you know?" she asked him skeptically.

"I can see it in your eyes," he declared honestly.

The next day, Emma told her boss that she'd be leaving at the end of the week, and that she was taking a new job with the Hawaii Police Department—specifically Hawaii 5-0. Her boss was sorry to see her leaving, but he was also amazed that she had been asked to be on such a select team.

"5-0 is the elite team around here," he told her. "They may not have been together long, but they've put away some master criminals already. Why, just last week, they took down a serial killer."

"Really?" Emma had read about the case in the newspaper, but she had paid little attention to which agency had taken down the brutal killer.

"Oh yes. Apparently, the governor authorized some Navy reserve officer to assemble a team of police officers to track down the man who killed his father."

"You must mean Lt. Commander McGarrett," Emma told him. "I met him yesterday."

"His father was a good cop," her boss continued. "McGarrett kept things quiet around here. People didn't cause a lot of trouble when he was around."

Emma left the restaurant that day, deep in thought. McGarrett hadn't mentioned that the reason 5-0 had been created was because of his father's death. She headed to the 5-0 office because Steve had promised to introduce her to the team that afternoon. She was half eager to meet them and half reluctant. She assumed that they were already a closely-knit, intimate team, and she expected that she would have a hard time breaking in. Still, with handsome, charming Steve McGarrett as her boss, Emma had a feeling that anything was possibly in Hawaii 5-0...


	3. Chapter 3

I apologize for a few of my mistakes—switching back and forth between persons and such. Currently, I am working on a novel which is written in first person, so making the switch is a bit difficult for me! One of you who reviewed gave me the idea for this next chapter. Thanks for your input! Keep reviewing!

When Emma got back to her small beach cottage that night, she pulled out her cell phone and called an old friend. She knew it was much later in D.C.—after midnight—but she felt confident that Gibbs would be awake, in his basement, and working on his boat.

He answered on the third ring. "I was wondering when you were going to call," he told her, not even bothering with a polite greeting.

"Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett came to see me," Emma declared, walking out onto her small deck to enjoy the ocean breeze. "He offered me a job with 5-0, his elite team."

"When do you start?" Gibbs wanted to know.

Emma smiled faintly, the corners of her mouth still refusing to turn up completely. "How did you know I'd accept his offer?" she asked Gibbs, the man who had taught her everything she knew about being an officer of the law.

"He's very convincing," Gibbs laughed. "And I knew you never really wanted to serve drinks to tourists, anyway."

"It was a bit boring," Emma admitted. "But it was rather laidback. You know, nobody tried to kill you on a regular basis. Still, it does feel a bit weird not to be carrying a gun."

"You'll like working with Steve," Gibbs told me. "He's a good guy. You can trust him with anything and everything."

Emma sighed. "Gibbs, I'm not sure if I'm willing to open up to anyone just yet. You know I'm still mourning the death of..." she didn't want to say his name just then. "I know I broke one of your rules, but I couldn't help it."

"I'm going to tell you something, Emma. I recently made a new rule: sometimes, you're wrong. I'm not saying you should try to fall in love with one of your teammates, but you can't shut them out forever," Gibbs advised her.

Once more, Emma sighed. "I know, Boss. It's just so hard sometimes! I feel as if history is just going to repeat itself!"

Gibbs was silent for a few minutes, and Emma knew that his silence was exactly what she needed to hear. "I just have to have faith, I know," she finally said. "Thanks, Gibbs. And thanks for telling McGarrett to come see me."

"You're welcome. Good luck," Gibbs told her.

Steve had dozed off in front of the television when his cell phone began to ring loudly. He groaned, rubbing his eyes wearily as he pulled his cell phone out and answered.

"Yeah, this is McGarrett," he mumbled drowsily.

"It's Gibbs," the voice on the other end of the phone said. "I just talked to Emma. She says she's going to join your team."

"Yeah, that's what she told me this afternoon," Steve replied. "I'm glad, but I sure hope that she's as good as you say she is."

"I didn't exaggerate," Gibbs told him. "Emma's a good cop, but she's hurting right now. She was close to her partner, you know. They were in love."

Steve's eyes grew wide, and he ran his fingers through his hair. "Wow. No, she didn't mention that. She mentioned that she was close to him, but nothing more than that."

"They were good about keeping it quiet at work, but it was obvious to everyone who knew them," Gibbs explained, his voice completely unemotional. "When Emma lost her partner, we all knew she was going to quit. I didn't even try to talk her out of it."

"She did say that he was killed right in front of her," McGarrett spoke up. "And she said they were close, but that was it."

"Don't mention anything about it," Gibbs advised the younger Hawaiian cop. "Emma is hurt, and she doesn't like anyone to take pity on her."

"Tough love, got it!"

On her first day with 5-0, Emma wasn't entirely sure how she should dress. She had noticed that Detective Williams wore a dress shirt and tie, but his handsome partner McGarrett wore cargo pants and a t-shirt that fit tightly across his chest. She stood in front of her closet, debating, for close to five minutes before she finally settled on a pair of black slacks and a slightly-more casual top. Steve had told Emma to bring her own gun to work where she could get checked out on it in the firing range, so she slipped it into the holster and settled the holster comfortably on her hip.

She stared at herself in her mirror and swallowed hard. She still wasn't entirely certain how she had ended up here, in Hawaii, accepting a job with the governor's specialized task force when only a few months ago, she had been living happily in the nation's capital.

McGarrett met Emma at the HPD entrance with a friendly smile and a handshake.

"Good morning," he greeted her, looking down at her pretty face.

"Good morning," she replied politely.

"You ready to be sworn in and meet the team?" Steve asked her, still determined to get her to smile at him.

"I think so," she said uncertainly, running her fingers through her hair. "Am I dressed appropriately? I wasn't sure what y'all wore to work..."

"You look fine," McGarrett assured her, opening the door wide and allowing her to walk in first. "We have a more relaxed, casual dress code here. Kono wears jeans most of the time."

"Who's Kono?" Emma asked him, walking at his side as he led her through the building.

"She's the other woman on the team," Steve explained kindly. "Her name is Kono Kalakaua . She's a former professional surfer, but when her career was ended suddenly, she decided to attend the police academy. She's a new cop, but she's good, too."

"Who else is on the team?"

"Chin Ho Kelly, one of my best friends," McGarrett told her. "He's smart, and a damn good cop, even though most people around here don't trust him."

"But you do, so he must be a good guy," Emma observed wisely.

"Chin was accused of some stuff a while back. None of it was true, but some things stick to a person's reputation forever."

"And then there's Detective Williams, right?" Emma asked. "He introduced himself to me the day you came to talk to me."

"Yeah, Danny's a cop from New Jersey. He moved to Hawaii so he could be closer to his daughter when his ex-wife moved out here," Steve said. "You'll like Danno—he's a good guy."

"Danno?" Emma echoed uncertainly.

"It's a bit of an inside joke," McGarrett laughed, his grin growing wider. "I call him that to annoy him, and trust me, it works!"

_**Thanks for all the great reviews! Keep 'em comin! I promise I'll get a new case going soon, but I need to get some background stuff taken care of first!**_


	4. Chapter 4

After Emma placed her right hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the laws of Hawaii, protect the people of the state, preserve the peace, and seek justice in all things, McGarrett officially pronounced her to be a member of 5-0. He slipped a cold, heavy badge into her hand, and her fingers closed around it tightly.

"Congratulations, and welcome to the team," Kono told her, extending her hand to Emma. "Steve has told us so much about what you used to do, and I look forward to getting to know you."

"And I you," Emma told the younger Hawaiian girl, almost smiling. McGarrett noticed that, though she came close to smiling frequently, the sadness never left her eyes. They never brightened; instead, they always stayed a dull, tired ocean blue.

"Steve says he's heard good things about you, and that's good enough for me," Chin greeted Emma, shaking her hand firmly. "It's good to have you onboard."

"Thanks," Emma said, swallowing hard. "I appreciate y'all allowing me to join it so suddenly."

"We're all a bit thrown together," Chin laughed.

"Did I just hear you use the word 'y'all'?" Danny asked Emma. "Boy, you sure can tell where you come from!"

"South Carolina, and proud of it!" Emma declared, squaring her shoulders slightly. "And yes, I did use the word 'y'all'."

"Guys, I'm going to take Emma down to the range," McGarrett announced to the team, putting his hand on her around her back and on her shoulders. "We're going to get her checked out with her Glock."

"Okay. We'll see you guys in a little while," Danny told them. "Have fun in the range."

At the indoor range, McGarrett took the booth next to Emma. He was planning on firing a few dozen rounds, too, but he really wanted to see how she did on the range. Gibbs had sent Emma's file to Steve, and her paperwork showed that she was an excellent shot. Still, he wanted to see it for himself.

"I should warn you that I haven't fired a weapon in several months," Emma told him, putting a fresh clip into her handgun. "I'm liable to be very rusty."

"Oh, it's all right," Steve assured her. "Don't worry about it. Just shoot the best you can."

When the buzzer sounded in the firing range, signaling that all the shooters could open fire, Emma hesitated for a moment. But, after waiting for just two seconds, she began unloading her clip into the paper target twenty yards away from her.

When she finished, she took off her ear protection and put her gun down. Her target came towards her on the automated track.

"Aw, damn," she swore angrily. "I did worse than I thought I would." Her target had only a few kill shots on it.

"You hesitated," McGarrett pointed out gently. "Here, take your stance again."

While the range workers reset the target for Emma, McGarrett instructed her to stand with her feet slightly further apart and to relax her shoulders. She obeyed readily, taking a deep breath and throwing her shoulders back slightly.

"When the buzzer sounds, don't hesitate," he instructed her. "You're in the range right now, so the target won't shoot back."

Emma nodded, swallowing hard. Steve put his hand on her arm when he realized that she was trembling slightly.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"The last person I shot with this gun was the man who killed my partner," she explained quietly. "After Matt was killed, we went to intercept the man that he and I had been working to expose. When he recognized me, he went to draw his weapon, but I killed him first."

"Listen, Emma, maybe I pushed you too hard. If you're not ready for this..."

"No." She shook her head adamantly. "I'll be fine, Steve. Please, let me do this. I have to do this. I need to do this. For Matt."

McGarrett was quiet for a few seconds, and then he nodded. "I understand. Really, I do. Take your stance."

Emma raised her weapon with confidence and aimed at the target in front of her. Steve lifted the headset from where it was resting around her neck and carefully placed them over her ears before putting his own on. When the buzzer sounded, Emma fired without any hesitation.

This time, Emma's target had only two no-kill shots; the rest were exactly where she wanted them to be. Once again, she almost smiled when she saw the flimsy piece of paper.

"Well, I guess it's going to come back to me," she remarked cheerfully. "I just hope you don't put me out in the middle of a firefight in the field right away."

"We'll break you in easy," Steve teased as they turned in their gear and headed back to the office.

"I'd appreciate it."

Unfortunately for Emma, 5-0 received a call a short time later, and the team was called out. Emma rode in the back seat of the Camaro while Danny drove and McGarrett sat in the passenger seat. Kono and Chin Ho were following in an SUV.

"So, what's the story here?" Emma wanted to know. "Where are we going?"

"Kahana Valley State Park," Steve told her, handing his cell phone back to her. "The body of a senator's aide washed up onshore this morning. The governor has assured Senator Makulaua that we'll be handling this case personally."

"A senator's aide?" Emma echoed, looking at the picture of the corpse with absolutely no hesitation. "What's the preliminary cause of death?"

"Two gunshots to the chest," Steve replied, taking his phone back from her, "but we'll have the body shipped back to our morgue for an autopsy."

"What exactly is the Kahana Valley State Park?" Emma asked. "I'm not familiar with Hawaii, yet."

"It's one of the wettest valleys in Hawaii," McGarrett explained. "It's usually pretty rainy and overcast. There are a few beachside campsites, and one of those is where the body showed up."

"It's almost like a field trip, right Emma?" Danny asked the newest member of 5-0.

When Emma was staring down at the body of the senator's aide, she shook her head. "No, Danny, I don't think this is like a field trip. I never saw any dead bodies on my field trips."

Detective Williams chuckled. "Yeah, if Gracie ever tells me that she saw something like this on one of her school trips, I'll be filing charges against her teachers."

"Who's Gracie?" Emma asked him curiously.

"She's my daughter and the reason I moved to Hawaii in the first place," Danny explained. "My ex-wife moved here with her new husband, so I had to follow."

"Ah. I see."

"Guys, let's get to know each other later," Steve suggested. "We've got work to do."


	5. Chapter 5

**Guys, I'm so sorry, but I'm going to have to stop working on this fiction. I'm so sorry to have to stop like this, but I just have so many other things that I need to focus on. Again, I apologize. Thanks for all the reviews that you sent me! I really appreciated the support that you gave me!**


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